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The road to a Dwight D. Eisenhower memorial has been anything but smooth. Frank Gehry’s original plans for the project were nixed by critics—most notably, the Eisenhower family. But, finally, all parties reached an agreement last fall and the project is going forward. Now, Gehry and Partners... View full entry
After more than four years of wrangling over Frank Gehry's proposal for the Eisenhower memorial, the Eisenhower family has removed its objections to a modified version of the initial design. Although information about specific design changes and compromises was scant, according to Reuters the... View full entry
Architect Frank Gehry’s modified design for the National Eisenhower Memorial received final approval from the National Capital Planning Commission Thursday, the final step in the federal approval process that has dragged on since 2011.
The commission voted 9 to 1 to move forward with the design for a memorial park on a four-acre site along Independence Avenue in Southwest Washington.
— washingtonpost.com
Previously in the Archinect news:Chairman of Eisenhower Memorial Commission to step downEisenhower Memorial clears key hurdle on Gehry designEisenhower Memorial to consider plan that removes most of Frank Gehry’s designsEisenhower memorial, politics as usualPanel rejects design for... View full entry
[...] Frank Gehry has once again revised his design for a long-delayed memorial to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, removing two controversial metal tapestries that would have flanked the installation and two columns.
The revised design was shown today to the National Capital Planning Commission, whose members for the most part seemed receptive to moving forward with the plan. But discussion over remaining 80-foot columns — from placement to height to necessity — hinted at possible issues.
— dcist.com
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Regardless, there are two paths forward. One is to scrap the project and start over with an open public competition, which would cost around $17 million, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The other is to push forward with the existing plan to finalize the memorial design and begin breaking ground.
We favor the latter. [...] And the current design is nowhere near a “monstrosity,” as some have called it; it is a novel take on memorialization [...].
— washingtonpost.com
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"What has fueled the Eisenhower memorial controversy in the media are the public pronouncements of two of the president’s granddaughters, Susan and Anne Eisenhower, who have proclaimed themselves dissatisfied with the design. Understandably, their position is being taken seriously. Yet I am concerned that the growing public brouhaha will ultimately weaken the memorial design." — The New York Times Op-ed by Witold Ribczynski
Witold Ribczynski adds his opinion and some new information to the Eisenhower Memorial design debate with this Op-ed piece for The New York Times. View full entry
